New Books in South Asian Studies · New Books Network

P. Thirumal and K. A. Nuaiman eds., "Inhabiting Technologies/Modernities: Media and Cultural Practices in South Asia" (Orient BlackSwan, 2025)

·1 hr 20 min·8 clips
The book proposes viewing media technologies not as tools, but as ontological entities with their own substance and afterlife.
This episode features an interview with P. Thirumal, co-editor of 'Inhabiting Technologies/Modernities: Media and Cultural Practices in South Asia,' discussing the book's framework that challenges nationalist and post-colonial media histories by connecting ancient Indic traditions with modern technologies. A second interview with contributor Carmel Christy KG explores how Malayalam cinema reflects Kochi's urban transformation through distinct geographical zones.

As heard by us

A careful reading of media history through South Asian contexts, with manuscript culture, Bhakti debate, and Kochi in view.

It is at its best when it resists the easy idea that a shift in medium automatically produces a shift in thought. The discussion stays grounded in manuscript culture, Bhakti-era debate, and the harder question of how regional and political formations shape the way technologies…

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Why you'd press play

Play this if you want a slow, serious unpacking of media history from a South Asian angle.

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